How to use Google Analytics 4 to optimize your website: Basic Guide

How to use Google Analytics 4 to optimize your website: Basic Guide

Google Analytics is a powerful, free tool that allows you to analyze your website’s performance, understand your visitors’ behavior and make informed decisions to improve your online presence. With the advent of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the way you measure and analyze data has changed. If you are new to GA4, this guide will help you set it up and get the most out of it.

Step 1: Basic setup of Google Analytics 4

1.1 Create a Google Analytics account

• Visit Google Analytics.
• Sign in with your Google account.
• Click on “Start for free” and follow the instructions to create a new account.

1.2 Configure a GA4 property

• After creating your account, add a new GA4 property for your website.
• Enter your website name, time zone and currency.
• Google Analytics 4 automatically focuses on events instead of sessions and page views, giving you a more detailed and flexible approach to user behavior.

1.3 Install the tracking code (Tag)

• GA4 will provide you with a unique measurement ID.
• For websites without advanced tools, paste the tracking code on all pages before the </head> tag.
• If you use a CMS like WordPress, you can install Google Site Kit (official plugin) or configure the measurement with Google Tag Manager for more control.

Step 2: Exploring the Google Analytics 4 Dashboard

2.1 Home Report
The home page provides an overview of key metrics such as active users, registered events, conversions and sessions. Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 focuses on events and overall user interaction.

2.2 Real-time reports
Real-time reports show what is happening on your website at the moment. You can see:

• Active users.
• Recent events (clicks, scrolls, downloads).
• Active pages and geographic location of visitors.

2.3 Life Cycle Report
GA4 groups user data into four main sections:

• Acquisition: Where your users come from (organic traffic, social networks, paid, etc.).
• Interaction: How users interact with your site (page views, clicks, videos played).
• Monetization: Data on purchases, revenues and transactions.
• Retention: How many users return and how their behavior evolves over time.

2.4 Explorations
GA4 introduces the “Explore” section, an advanced tool for creating customized analyses, such as:

• Conversion funnel maps.
• Cohort analysis (groups of users with similar behaviors).
• Advanced data segmentation.

Step 3: Configure events and conversions

3.1 Understand events
In GA4, almost everything is measured as an event (clicks, page views, video plays, etc.). Some events are tracked automatically, while others you can set up manually.

3.2 Configure conversions

• In the “Manage” section > “Events”, mark important events as conversions (e.g. purchase, registration, download).
• If you need custom events, you can set them up with Google Tag Manager.

3.3 Enhanced measurement
GA4 automatically includes events such as:

• Page scrolling.
• File downloads.
• Clicks on external links.
• Video reproductions.

Step 4: Analyzing the data in Google Analytics 4

4.1 Advanced segmentation
GA4 allows you to create custom segments to analyze groups of users with specific behaviors or characteristics. Examples:

• New vs. returning users.
• Users who completed a purchase.
• Visitors from a specific region.

4.2 Custom conversion funnels
In the Explore section, you can create visual conversion funnels to identify at which stage users abandon. For example:

1. Visit the product page.
2. Add to cart.
3. Finalize purchase.

4.3 Retention reports and user analysis
Use these reports to see how often users return to your site and how well you retain your audience over time.

Step 5: Making decisions using GA4 data

5.1 Optimizes user experience
Identifies pages with low interaction or uncompleted events and makes adjustments to improve navigation and content.

5.2 Adjust your marketing campaigns
Use acquisition reports to analyze which channels and campaigns generate more conversions. Adjust your budget and strategies according to the data obtained.

5.3 Measure content performance
Find out which content generates the most events (reads, clicks, downloads) and focus on creating more similar content that connects with your audience.

Google Analytics 4 is the ultimate tool for analyzing and understanding your audience. With its event-based metrics, advanced reporting and detailed segmentation, you can make more accurate decisions to improve user experience and optimize your digital strategy. Set it up today and take your website to the next level!